[Location] The Emerald Peacock

[Colombina]

The Emerald Peacock The Emerald Peacock is an example of the Eypharian habit to do nothing halfway. If a thing is worth having, it is worth being the most adorned and luxurious thing within a five mile radius. After obliterating the more modest competition, the Peacock has emerged as the city's primary place for rooms and food. When unable to find a noble feast in full swing, the more refined Eypharians (and they all envision themselves as refined) visit the splendid emerald and gold rooms. The walls and doors shift in gradients from jeweled greens to lapis blue. Empty walls are are inlaid with gold depictions of the patron animal or murals of the same. Opalgloam lights drop from the ceiling between a massive filigree of gold, while vases of peacock feathers and delphinium serve as centerpieces for the tables. The tables and long sofas downstairs are never stationary, changing with the owner's whim. There are no menus at the Peacock, diners eat what the cooks provide. The fare is consistently sumptuous and usually stretches to at least five courses. The upper rooms rented by travelers boast actual baths, gilded benches and canopy beds of cedar. NPC's Secret : Mesi, The Owner's Daughter: Mesi is a girl of no more than eight but she fancies herself almost entirely grown up. She is often found running errands or telling the cooks what to do. Her amusing bossiness is tempered by her helpfulness and desire to be liked.

[Akuaysun]

Mid Winter, 509 AV

The days had run together over the course of Akuaysun’s journey, and he was quite unsure of just how many had past. Only knowing that they had slipped into the winter months where Leth reigned supreme in the skies and Syna’s loving embrace was mostly reserved for her counterpart. The faux Myrian hadn’t been able to wash himself in days and sand had worked its way into every crevice and edge of his form. How, or even why people chose to live this way were beyond him, but over the course of the season he intended to full explore the reasoning, and the culture to find out. Perhaps if he could tell what drove them to live in this environment he could come one step closer to fully understanding mortality and those that clung so dearly to it.

It was interesting to him, that even after he explained to the natural born of this realm about the cycle and all things magnificent beyond it, they still clung dearly to their current lives. As time had passed since his summer rebirth Aku was regaining more and more of his old memories, mostly from his most previous life as a Myrian warrior, but also of the many before it. He could distinctly remember things that no longer existed, and as he tried to understand this world he could not help but compare the things around him to it. Perhaps the gods had been the major factor in the unraveling of greatness, but man had surely played a hand in his own demise.

Stepping from the afternoon sun into the gold and emerld room of the peacock brought an instant relief from the elements. The establishment was lush and over the top in every way imaginable, but when in the lands do as they do some would say. Aku felt little need to surround himself in the fineries of this life, he knew of thing exponentially beyond the beauty of this realm, but to complete his goals he had to follow the rules of this land. In this city, it was to surround oneself in extravagance.

Thereby the Ethaefal found himself in the best, the place in which high society seemed to flock to. Things of this nature were easy to discern, ask a beggar where he would stay if only given the chance and he would point you in a proper direction, ask high society the same question and if they pointed you away then you knew the beggar had not lied. Things were simple in these times, one simply had to examine the process that took place and then apply it in a beneficial way.

Once an attendant could be found, Aku in his dirt covered fineries stood tall, his broad Myrian form enough to intimidate all but the most confident, which seemed to be many in this land. His voice however, while powerful, was offered softly to the ears, speaking in even tones that carried hints of his celestial wisdom. “Good day, I would like a room, with bath, and a meal. My horse is tied outside and will need stabling. What is the fare for such things?”

[Colombina]

The attendant Akuaysun found was a young girl, no more than eight. Three of her four arms were full with rolls of clean linen. Her black hair was braided with green ribbon and gold cords, and she wore a cream tunic with gilded edging and a bronze colored belt. In any other culture, it would look like a small child had snuck into her mother's closet and stole some prettier pieces for dress-up.

Despite being around four and a half feet tall, she gave Akuasyun a blatant up and down stare. By the perturbed shape of her mouth she didn't approve of what she saw.

"A Myrian, yes?" She sniffed, "I'll have you know, we trade in Miza's here, not bits of skull. And it is three gold mizas for the bath, stabling, today's food and lodgings."

Growing defensive despite lack of provocation, she added, "It is a very fair price for what you will receive."
She continued, "The bath is complimentary. We don't want jungle mud and blood on the floors."

[Akuaysun]

Akuaysun watched the girl as she examined him and made the internal assumptions of exactly what he was based simply on his appearance. He smiled, nearly laughed, as he thought about how she had all but ignored his speech and depended solely on her eyes. It wasn’t that the Ethaefal didn’t expect it, but it did humor him none the less. A beggar could look like a prince, but that did not mean he was nobility.

He listened to her intently, his eyes never leaving her own confident little orbs, and the smile never falling from his lips. She was a delight, and he could only imagine that her accusing little persona was the product of a much less understanding parent or two. Once she was finished explaining the pricing of the rooms he kneeled down a little bit to speak to her at eye level. Aku’s voice was even and direct, not quite condescending nor accusatory as his hosts, but purposely not carrying the kind demeanor he had opened with either.

“Well aren’t you an astute little thing, I’d not doubt your obviously keen eye or superior business sense. I am quite happy to hear you will take my little rounds of gold and stone as well as if you did take bits of bone as your currency I would be in a bit of trouble when it came to paying…” Aku slipped his hand into a small pouch at his waist and pulled out a handful of gold rimmed mizas, thumbing through them and selecting out fifteen of the coins before returning the remainder to his pouch. “This should cover the first five passings of Syna, if I plan to stay longer I will be happy to give you more. Now will you be fetching me a key and directing me to my room or shall I find another who might be more suited to helping me rather than cleaning my linens?